


Thaw

by HenryMercury



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, I think?, In that Bolin and Eska do try a long distance relationship after Book 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 02:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5357357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HenryMercury/pseuds/HenryMercury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>He likes that she's fearless when it comes to telling people what she doesn't like or want. He's been the exact opposite of that in his dealings with many people, including her. Especially her.<i></i></i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thaw

"It's not that I don't love grand romantic gestures," Bolin says, still a little nervous about the conversation he's currently having, even though it seems to be going pretty okay. He and Eska have made a lot of progress already. "I love that you could imagine us getting married and living together in icy bliss. But I think we need to learn from our first breakup and get to know what we each want a bit better. I mean, how can we live happily ever after if we don't even know what makes both of us happy?"

Eska regards him silently, as she tends to do. He's been working on feeling less unnerved by it, and he's mostly been succeeding, even if he sometimes squeaks embarrassingly when she appears behind him really suddenly. She seems to find the squeaks endearing, at least. Now that he's paying attention to the details of her, trying to really learn the language that is Eska, he can see the signs that she feels this way.

He knows Ginger didn't find it endearing when he was afraid. Everything with Ginger was confusing in general, but she only seemed to like him when he was being a hero. Bolin loves being a hero, sure, but he's only human and he gets scared sometimes. That's allowed. And he—as everyone does—deserves someone who won't judge him for it.

Eska really likes her feeble turtle duck, and for all that she is practically made of ice and snow, it warms Bolin inside whenever she calls him that, with that hint of a smile in her voice so subtle only a trained ear (such as his own) can detect it.

Eska's thoughtful pause ends as she says, "I am uncertain of what route into the future will result in my contentment, now that so much has been altered."

"Well, you don't have to know right now," Bolin assures her. He lowers his voice to a dramatic whisper, "just between you and me, I think _most_ people don't know what they want. But maybe trying to plan future happiness isn't the best way to do this. Maybe we should just slow it down. Go with the flow a bit. You're a waterbender, you understand all that, right?"

Another pause. Eska takes her time to consider everything she says. She's the polar opposite of Bolin in that way, as well as many others. Sure, their ideas about their relationship not matching up was what caused them problems at first, but Bolin really believes their differences can also be what will make them work so well, once they figure out how to use them to their advantage, to complement each other. That's why this conversation is important. That's why they have some version of it each and every time they manage to meet up.

"I understand in a way, yes," Eska agrees. "You are suggesting that we harness the natural momentum of our relationship and guide its trajectory instead of trying to force it through sudden changes in direction. Is that correct?"

"Yes!" Bolin replies, triumphant. "That's exactly what I mean! See, we're already getting better at this. Talking is great, don't you think?"

"I can see its utility."

They're sitting in a quiet spot in Republic City. Eska has come a long way to see him, and while Bolin has felt somewhat out of place during his visits to the icy north pole, she looks even more different out of her frozen context. The weather is warm at this time of year—warm enough that Bolin spends as much of his time as he can get away with just walking around in a singlet top (it shows off his mover-star physique; nobody minds). Eska has traded her heavy fur robes for a slightly thinner version of the same. She's still draped in indigo, but the fabric is silkier. It sort of swirls when she turns, floating lightly through the air almost the way air nomad robes do. The way she moves is beautiful—graceful and deliberate—and Bolin is reminded of this every time he catches sight of her clothes fluttering like this.

"I'm really, really glad you're here," he tells her.

"So you have explained on multiple occasions since my arrival yesterday."

He grins. "I just want to make sure you know it."

"You are sweet."

And see, Mako would say her voice is toneless as she says this, but Bolin is attuned to her subtle inflection and he hears the feeling in the words. Even if that feeling wasn't positive like it is now, he could always remind himself that she came all this way to see him. She wouldn't do that if she didn't care. She wouldn't do that if she didn't want to try and make this work.

It hasn't been easy, admittedly. After Unalaq's... _demise_ , as Eska would put it, the northern water tribe had needed her and Desna to step up and take over as chiefs. Bolin had written some letters to her during those frantic weeks and she'd written him some in return, although hers were quite a lot shorter. She'd been busy, which was totally fair enough, but he'd still begun to wonder whether their renewed relationship might have been failing before it even really got to start.

So he'd packed a bag, refused to hear it when Mako told him he was acting crazy, and he'd gone to the north pole to see her.

He'd found Eska and Desna sitting on twin thrones in the huge empty hall of the palace, and Eska had smiled a quick little smile that not even a cynic like Mako could have disputed.

"Bolin," she'd said. "You have come to visit me."

He'd run towards her, slipped on the icy floor, been caught by a chunk of ice Eska bent up in his path, steadied himself, and finally reached her. Then he'd lifted her out of her chair and hugged her. She'd been stiff in his arms, but some of the stiffness had melted away as he'd held on. It isn't like Bolin isn't used to awkward hugs; he hugs Mako all the time, after all. He doesn't get what other people are on about when they talk about not seeming too emotional. When Bolin cares about people he wants them to know.

"I did," he'd told her, maybe a little tearfully. "I missed you."

"I found that your absence magnified the tedium of ruling the tribe. When there are no wars to be fought nothing interesting happens at all. I think I understand why Father incited one."

From his place a few feet away, Desna mumbled in agreement.

"Hey, Desna," Bolin remembered to say. "Good to see you too."

Desna isn't with Eska now in Republic City. One of the perks of being joint chiefs is that she can be here and there will still be a chief at home to rule the tribe. But it's strange for Bolin to see them separately. He can't imagine how strange it must be for the twins themselves to be so far apart.

"Hey, how about we go down to the docks," Bolin suggests, hoping that being near water might help Eska feel at ease. "Or we can find a rocky patch of shore, I can show you some earthbending moves and you can show me your waterbending! That'd be fun, right?"

Eska nods once. "We shall go where you say," she permits.

 

It's not the nicest day up at the lookout point. While the spot where they're standing is nicely tucked away from prying eyes, it's not very well protected from the wind. Cold, salty ocean breezes whip at Bolin's eyes until he's all teary. He shivers slightly, buffeted by the chilled air. The heat of the day has disappeared fast as the sun has retreated for the afternoon. At least Eska seems more comfortable now.

"I find this location agreeable," she tells him.

"It's kind of a special spot," Bolin says. "Great for watching the sunset, if we want to stay around for that. Very _romantic_ ," he waggles his eyebrows. "But if you follow me I can make it a little bit specialer."

"Very well."

There's a fence around most of the clifftop, but Bolin knows a section that's easy to sneak through without getting his bending too involved and making a mess of anything, so they slip through at that point. Then he reaches down into the cliff and carefully pulls at a section of it that won't make the whole edge unstable. There's a ledge down below, but it's much too far to try and jump. He uses his bending to make a staircase that curls down the sheer rock face. He puts more effort into the construction than he usually does if he comes here alone.

"My lady," he says, bowing his head and extending a hand towards Eska. She is a princess, after all. Or is she a queen now? Or just a chief. Bolin decides it doesn't matter. She'd be important whether or not she was any of those things, because he cares about her. She's important to him because she's Eska.

Obligingly, she places her hand in his. He arranges their palms so that they press up against one another, their fingers so that they interlace. Her hands are warm and dry. He'd been surprised by how warm they were when he'd first held them. He leads her down the staircase with care. The wind has the waves below battering the bottom of the cliff, and while Bolin is comforted by the control he has over the earth around him, it still feels like a long way down. Eska could catch herself just fine with all that water, but he thinks that her slipping off the edge would ruin the moment. He'd like to avoid it.

They reach the outcrop and sit. Eska perches, letting her legs dangle over the edge, while Bolin sits just a tiny bit further back and crosses his. Eska shifts back from the edge so as to be closer to him. He picks up on the suggestion in her actions and covers the rest of the distance between them, pressing up against her side and sliding an arm across her shoulders. She'd certainly shrug him off if she didn't like it—or freeze his arm in a block of ice—so he knows she doesn't mind. He likes that she's fearless when it comes to telling people what she doesn't like or want. He's been the exact opposite of that in his dealings with many people, including her. _Especially_ her. Her honesty is occasionally brutal, but really he thinks the certainty it provides is nice. He doesn't have to wonder whether she's secretly thinking the opposite of what she's saying, out of politeness or timidness. Eska herself is very like the truth; intimidating, scary, hard sometimes. But good. The truth and Eska are both things that Bolin really appreciates.

They sit there for long enough that they do catch the sunset. It's been kind of cloudy, dull weather so the colours aren't the most spectacular, but the way pale peaches and yellows melt up into the dark navy above is still nice. Eska watches, and Bolin isn't sure what she thinks of it, whether she likes it or not, but she doesn't suggest that they leave until it's gone dark.

Getting back up from the outcrop after dark isn't as easy. Bolin used to come here with Mako when one or both of them needed to get away for some time to think, and Mako could firebend them a light to go by. But Bolin knows the place well enough by now to get by without that. He bends a chunk of stone for them to stand on and lifts it up like an elevator. Eska holds on with a hand around Bolin's waist—contact which she initiates and seems reluctant to stop when they're back on the ground at the main lookout point. He is a little bit stoked.

They walk back towards the illuminated city centre, past the docks where most of the fishing vessels come in. It smells pretty bad there, but Bolin is plenty used to bad smells.

"Sorry it kinda stinks," he says to Eska. "It's just this section of the coast that's as bad as this."

She shrugs. "I live in a tribe sustained primarily by hunting and killing ocean-dwelling creatures. The temperate climate in this geographical location exacerbates the stench of animal carcasses, but I am not wholly unaccustomed to such smells."

"Oh, that's good then."

"Bo!" A familiar voice comes out of the darkness. High-pitched, cheerful, a little bit husky like it's been used for too much shouting recently. It's been some time since Bolin heard this voice, but he recognises it instantly all the same.

"Lio!"

He only sees her when she darts out under one of the street lights. She hurtles towards him at a run and doesn't slow down until she's flung her arms around his neck. She smells really strongly of fish, but also seawater, the fresh bay breeze that's stiffened her hair with salt, and the smell that he recognises as her own. He'd known her smell even when it was masked by the fine perfume of some of Republic City's worst dumpsters, back in their days on the street.

Suddenly Lio is crying out in surprise, and Bolin feels something cold and wet down his front. Ice, he sees, is creeping in between them. He lets go and turns to look at Eska.

"Hey, Eska, it's okay. Lio's just an old friend of mine. Please unfreeze her. We've talked about this, remember?"

Eska sighs, and the ice melts, splashing down around Lio's feet.

"You express platonic affection through certain forms of physical contact," she says. "Hugging is one such form."

Bolin sends his girlfriend a smile. It hadn't been easy for her to accept that him hugging other girls didn't mean he was cheating on her, and evidently she's still not _quite_ there yet. He's not sure that hugging has meant the same thing in Eska's life so far as it has in his. He can't really imagine any of her family hugging, which makes him sad for her. "That's right," he tells her encouragingly, then turns to Lio: "Sorry about that."

Lio shrugs. She's always been the kind of person who remains unruffled through just about anything.

"It's great to see you again," she tells him. "I saw posters for your mover— _Nuktuk! Hero of the South!_ I didn't get to see it but it looked amazing! Were you really dating that Ginger girl?"

Bolin makes a noncommittal sort of sound. "Kind of, for like a minute there, but not really," he says. "It was mainly for the screen." He hadn't understood Ginger's behaviour for some time, but one conversation with Asami on the subject had set him straight. She really understood girl stuff, being a girl herself and all. And Bolin supposes it makes sense that Ginger in the mover could be different from the real Ginger. Maybe if she'd had a different name, like he was Nuktuk...

Lio's got a mischievous look in her eye that he knows well, and he's not surprised when, a minute later, she says, "So if you're not dating her, do you think you could introduce us?"

He laughs, looks at her scruffy overalls, the long strings of black hair falling out of her rough topknot, and the little smudge of what might either be dirt or ash across her forehead, just above one of her angled eyebrows.

"I don't think you're her type," he says. "Not that any lady in this city wouldn't be lucky to have such a charming—"

"Alright, alright. I was kidding anyway; I don't want your leftovers."

"Unless it's leftovers of my famous street gruel," Bolin winks. "Speaking of which—are you working here at the docks? Where are you living these days?"

"I'm working here, yes. Not the most fun job ever, but at least all those nights spent desensitising myself to the smell of garbage come in handy. I've got a little apartment now, not too far from here, with a couple of the other workers. You should visit us sometime!" Lio casts a glance at Eska, who is standing, still and silent as a statue. "You can bring your..." she trails off suggestively so as to get an answer out of him.

"Girlfriend. Lio, this is Eska, my girlfriend, and chief of the northern water tribe. Eska, Lio is one of my old friends from when Mako and I were growing up on the street."

"Chief of the northern water tribe?" Lio repeats after him. "Bolin, you have certainly never been boring."

Lio has to get going, but they only part ways after making solemn promises to get noodles sometime and catch up on everything they've missed in each other's lives. Bolin wonders whether maybe she'd take some of the money he earned from his movers, or whether she'd let him hook her up with a job from Varrick's connections, something to get her off the stinking dock area. He thinks about these things because he'd love to help a friend, but he knows she'll never agree to any of it. Lio makes her own way. That was how it was after her family kicked her out, even though she had nothing, so it's no doubt how it is now that she's set up a livelihood for herself.

They make it back home without any dramas. It isn't that Bolin fears they'll be mugged—the outcome of any attack on them is bound to fall in their favour with not only Bolin's pro earthbending powers but Eska's terrifying waterbending. They walk without interruptions, Eska mostly quiet and Bolin keeping up a stream of commentary about all the places they walk past, whether they're special landmarks of just alleyways he's slept in before. Eska seems remarkably unworried by his humble beginnings. Maybe she finds it romantic—the princess, and the hero who has had to struggle to make his way in the world. Bolin finds it pretty romantic.

 "I'm glad that you came to visit," he says, again, because it's true and he can see no harm in repeating it. "I know Republic City isn't what you're used to, but it's my home and I'm happy to have you in it."

"You know that I will never be able to stay here with you," she reminds him.

"Of course," he says, "I haven't forgotten. You have to be with your tribe."

He thinks about how far Republic City is from the north pole. It takes longer to get here from the north than it does to get to the southern water tribe, now that the spirit portals linking the water tribes are permanently open. If only there was a spirit portal in Republic City, he and Eska could travel back and forth whenever they liked.

"Are you certain you cannot come with me," she asks, "to live in icy bliss?"

"Not right now," he sighs. "I've got responsibilities here. Mako's here, my friends are here, Team Avatar needs me and Varrick's talking about filming another mover here soon too. This is where my life is, at least for the moment." He takes her hand, gives her a reassuring smile. "But think of how much has changed recently. Who's to say things won't change even more soon? Maybe a solution will present itself!"

 "Your optimism is amusing, my turtle duck," Eska says, and leans her head gently against his shoulder. "Perhaps we should do as you suggest. Go with the flow."

Bolin laughs at the stilted way those last words come out of her mouth. "Yeah," he grins. "Go with the flow." He makes waterbending motions and whooshing sounds to illustrate his point until Eska wraps his wrists in ice and drags his hands back down to his sides. She takes the one closest to her and interlaces their fingers.


End file.
